Hugs and cheers! ESA is celebrating a successful landing.
The harpoons have been fired, the landing gear has been moved inside and Philae is talking. "It has done its job. We are on the comet," an ESA official said.
"This is a big step for human civilization," Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general. Clearly a great day for the ESA and its partners.
Back in November 1993, the ESA approved the idea of landing a spacecraft on a speeding comet. Fast forward to March 2, 2004 when Rosetta launched from an Ariane 5 G+ rocket. And ten years later -- success!
"The solar system is mankind's. This is our first step to take it...It's these steps that will lead us beyond this planet and onto Mars....It is our destiny to move off this planet," NASA's Dr. Jim Green just said.
The Rosetta mission cost 1.4 billion Euros -- that's nearly $1.8 billion USD.
One last update on Philae before the champagne toast: ESA can confirm it had a soft landing but may need to reshoot its anchors. For now -- the team is raising a glass as they wait for the first photos from the comet's surface to be transmitted back to Earth.
Harpoons confirmed fired and reeled in. Flywheeel will now be switched off. @Philae2014 is on the surface of #67P #CometLandingby ESA Operations via twitter 11/12/2014 4:13:54 PM
by ESA via twitter 11/12/2014 4:19:30 PM
